Should you leave a message?

Posted by Ilise Benun on Mar 28, 2007

Very often, when you are reaching out to prospects who’ve never heard of you before and you make an initial round of phone calls, it’s essential that you leave a message. Frankly, if you don’t, it’s a waste of time. You may think it’s not worth leaving a message, but that only makes sense if you think that leaving a message is about getting a call back. Don’t expect that. People rarely call back these days, which is fine.

What’s realistic is to leave a message as your first volley, your initial introduction to a stranger. Don’t even think about them calling back. Next, you follow up with an email message that says the exact same thing as your voice mail. They may respond to that, but probably not.

Next, you call again and by now your name is familiar and they’ve heard your voice (and they can tell how nice and pleasant you’d be to work with — all from the sound of your voice) and you’re starting to gain some real estate in their mind. You still may not get through and they still may not call back but, unbeknownst to you, you are starting to create an impression. And that’s the first objective.